To facilitate the centuries-old weaving process, wire mesh suppliers must employ specialized weaving looms designed to work with metallic wires. These looms consist of seven components: a warp beam, warp wires, heddle frames, weft wires, a rapier band, a reed, and a front take-up mechanism.
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The warp beam is a cylindrical beam that is used to wind the warp wire after the volume and length of the wires are calculated based on the specifications of the mesh.
Warp wires are the wires that run vertically and are threaded through the entire loom.
The heddle frames are holsters that are used to organize and separate the warp wires. Looms set up to produce a square mesh may have two sets of heddle frames, whereas more complex filter cloth weaves may have more.
Weft wires are the wires the run horizontally and are typically fed by a separate spool of wire.
The rapier band system is responsible for threading the weft wire through the sets of warp wires between heddle frame movements.
The reed is one of the most essential elements of a weaving loom as it is used to position the warp wires they will be woven in and drive the weft wires into their exact potion.
The front take-up mechanism rolls the woven mesh once it is fully woven.
To initiate the weaving process, a loom operator will attach and arrange the individual wires on the warp according to their position in the weave. To prevent entanglement, these wires are housed in a wire housing unit known as a creel.
Once attached, the warp beam is wound, allowing the proper length of wire to be wrapped around the beam.
Each wire wound on the warp beam is threaded through its own heddle in a specific heddle frame then carefully threaded through the reed openings based on their order in the weave. At this point, the warp beam, heddle frame assembly are transferred to the weaving hall, and the remainder of the loom is assembled.
NOTE: A great deal of attention to detail must be applied when threading the wire through the heddle frames and reed, as this process control how accurate the mesh specifications are.
Once the loom is fully assembled and the wires are properly threaded, the weaving process can begin.
When first initializing the weaving loom, the warp beam unwinds slightly to feed a small increment of wires. At the same time, the front take-up mechanism winds the same increment of wires to maintain the required tension to produce high-quality mesh.
Once these movements are made in conjunction, the heddle frames shift to separate the wires. In a two-heddle frame system, the first heddle frame lifts one half of the wires, and the second heddle frame drives the other half of wires down.
While the two sets of wires are separated, a weft wire, typically fed from a wire spool that is separated from the creel and placed next to the loom, is shot between the wires by the rapier band. The rapier band then moves back to its resting position.
It's at this point that the reed propels the weft wire to its final position, creating the precise cross-sections that wire mesh is known for. Once the weft wire is positioned, the reed returns to its resting position.
This marks the completion of the first interval.
To continue the weaving process, the warp beam and front take-up mechanism make the same slight, rotating movement to begin another interval. At the same time, the heddle frames will switch potion, wedging the previous weft wire as the two sets of wires are separated in the opposite direction.
These joint movements repeatedly continue until the desired length and mesh specification is woven.
This was our very first blog back in 2013 we have decided to revisit it as stainless steel woven mesh is our largest product range and therefore extremely topical for our Customers. Our sales team have enormous knowledge of stainless steel woven mesh and its applications. We would like to share this with you to build and improve your knowledge of stainless steel woven mesh especially when identifying and specifying. The ‘Ins and Outs’ of woven mesh is straight forward and once you’ve got it- you’ve got it or you can always refer back!
Stainless steel woven mesh comes in a wide variety of specifications providing a range of mechanical properties. Coarser weaves woven from heavier wire diameters provide useful mechanical strength, while finer weaves are useful as filtration and screening due to their smaller aperture.
Woven Mesh Terminology/ Definition
Mesh – The number of openings per lineal inch (25.4mm)
SWG – Standard wire gauge
Aperture – The distance between two adjacent wires (opening)
Diameter –The thickness of the wire before weaving
Pitch – The distance between the middle point of two adjacent wires or the sum of the aperture width and the wire diameter
% Open Area– The ratio of the area of the aperture to the area of the mesh expressed in percentage terms
Warp – All wires running lengthwise of the cloth as woven
Weft –All wires running across the cloth as woven
We often have customer requests to identify stainless woven mesh whether it be to match or replace an existing specification. Using the formulas and steps below will help you identify your mesh. Give us a call if you get stuck! For terminology refer above
Formulas for Identifying Woven Mesh
Aperture
To calculate the aperture
1. Count the number of apertures over 1 inch (N)
2. Measure the length covered by the N apertures (24.5mm) (L)
3. Measure the wire diameter (D)
Working example of calculating the aperture of 6/20 woven wire mesh
1. Number of apertures counted N = 6
2. Length covered by apertures centre to centre L = 25.4mm
3. Diameter of wire D = 0.9mm
4. Aperture
The woven wire is identified as 3.33mm aperture / 0.9mm diameter.
Please see data sheet below, for the example that we have worked through.
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Mesh Count
If the aperture and the diameter are known the mesh count can be determined.
Percentage Open Area
Woven mesh consists of open spaces and material. Open area is the total area of the holes divided by the total area of the cloth and is expressed as a percentage.
Micron conversion
A micron is another measurement used for measuring mesh size. A micron is one millionth of a meter or one twenty five thousandth of an inch
Weaves
At SSWM we stock four different weaves, plain weave, intercrimp weave, lockcrimp weave and twill weave.
Plain Weave
Plain weave is the most common and simplest weave. Each warp wire (the wire running parallel to the length of the cloth) passes alternatively over and under the wires running transversely through the cloth at 90 degree angles.
Intercrimp
Intercrimp has extra crimps in the warp and weft wire between the intersections.
Lockcrimp Weave
Is produced with pre-crimped wire. Lock crimp weave is stabilised by a notch or bump at the wire intersections.
Twill Weave
Twill weave is made by passing each fill wire alternatively over and under two warp wires.
Selvage edge
Selvage is the term for self finished edge. In woven mesh, selvages are the edges the run parallel to the warp (the longitudinal wire the run the length of the mesh), and are created by the weft wire looping back at the end of each row.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of stainless steel pre-crimp mesh. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.